Fountain pen



Dec. 20, 1949 A. F. OCONNOR FOUNTAIN PEN Filed Oct. 4, 1947 Fig .1

IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 20, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT O F F I CE 2 Claims.

more particularly to the force feed for ink in Tountainpens of the type employing a dense or pasty ink and a rotatable writing ball for applying the ink to a writing surface. vention is particularly adaptable for use in fountain pens employing the force feed mechanism disclosed in my copending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 660,737 filed April 9, 1946, now'Patent No..2,4l0,829, dated .May 4:, 1948. While the invention is particularly well adapted for use'with fountain pens of the ballpoint type, and its use with ball-point fountain pens is herein described and shown, it is also adaptable for other useful purposes in .con-

nection with conventional type fountain pens which'use a fluid ink, as hereinafter explained.

.An object is to provide new and novel means for selectively advancing the pasty ink in a pen of the ball-point type to the writing ball, as the ink adjacent the writing ball is used up.

Another object is to provide improved means for:preventing leakage of the ink around the ink reservoir and insuring that the ink passing out of the reservoir can only emerge. from the pen at the writing point.

A further-object is to provide a new and novel type of ink containing sac or cartridge which may bereadilyremoved when empty and replaced by anew ink-filed cartridge which is simple and inexpensive tomanufacture.

Another object is to provide improved means whereby the pen user may selectively and positively control the flow of ink to the writing element.

A further object is to provide improved. means whereby the pen user who may inadvertently manipulate the actuating mechanism to cause a superflous supply of ink at the writing element may readilyread ust the actuating mechanism to produce the desired flow of ink.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will be apparent from the following :description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

.Inthedrawings-Fig. 1 is a longitudinal axial sectional view of a fountain pen embodying one form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is la similar view to'that of l, with a'portion only being shown in longitudinalaxial section.

2: 3.118 :anrelevational .view of two of the component parts sofithe invention shown in their operating-relationship.

The in- Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the structure of Fig. 3.

Fig.5 is a fragmentary view of an alternate embodiment of the invention, partly in section.

Fig. 6 isa fragmentary view of an alternate type'of ink. sac to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Throughout the following specification the words forward end, rear end and .their equivalents are intended to mean the writing end and the oppositeof the .pen, respectively.

In Figs. 1 andi2 are shown a pen of the ballpoint type embodying one form of the invention. Amain body portion or barrel it is shown, witha combined actuating and closure member l2 at its rear endand a tip member M .at its forward end. A writing ball it maybe rotatably mounted in the forward end of the tip member. A tubular member i8. is shown in telescoped'relationwith the bore of the barrel l0 and a plunger 20 is shown mounted in themember' l8 adapted for movement lengthwise thereof. An elongated accordion-like ink sac .22 is shown within'the member l8, with its forward end coupled to the tip member M and its opposed end in engagement with the plunger 29.

The barrel ID, as best shown in Fig. 1, comprises an elongated tubular member having an axial bore 24 therethrough formed with internal threads 26. The forward end of the bore 24 communicates with a forwardly disposed coaxial bore 28 of reduced diameter forming a shoulder portion 30. The forward portion of the bore .28 is shown internallythreaded at 32. The rear end portion of the bore 24 terminates in an enlarged coaxial bore34.

Theactuating member 12 comprises an elongated cylindrical member roundedat its rear end and "formed 'at its opposed end with a reduced diameter forwardly extending circular portion 36 adapted for telescoped rotating relationwith the bore'34 of the barrel in. As best shown in Fig. "1, the portion 36 is formed with an axial cavity 38 of non-circular cross-sectional configuration.

A reduced diameter bore 40 may be formedin the member l2 coaxial with and communicating with the cavity 38 to provide air communication'between the cavity 38and the extreme rear end ofthe'member l2.

The tip member l4 is shown as an elongated cylindrical member tapering forwardly and inwardly, terminating at its forward end in a cavity 4| adaptedforlrotatably. mounting the Writing'ball "I6. "Themember M is shown with a centrally disposed'portion 42 extending into the threaded portion 32 of the barrel; the periphery of the portion 42 being threaded whereby the tip member M may be screwed into and out of the forward end of the barrel. The portion 42 is shown terminating at its rear end in a rear wardly extending circular portion i l of reduced diameter. The member 54 is formed with an axial bore 46 extending through the portion M terminating at the forward portion of the member It in a coaxial bore 48 of reduced diameter communicating with the cavity 4! and associated ball H5.

The member it, as best shown in Fig. 3, comprises a tubular member adapted for rotatable telescoped relation with the bore 2% of the barrel i formed adjacent its rear end with a trans verse wall having a centrally disposed rearwardly extending reduced size member 52 adapted for nested relation with and having a cross-sectional configuration corresponding with the cross-sectional configuration of the cavity 38. A pair of longitudinally extending slots at are shown in the opposed side walls of the member is extending from a point adjacent the end wall 50 to and throughthe forward circular edge of the member 58. The member 52 is shown formed with a central aperture 55 adapted to provide air communication between the interior of the member [8 and the bore 4!) of the assembled pen.

The plunger 25 is shown as comprising a disclike member having sufficient thickness to prevent its cooking in but permitting longitudinal sliding relation with the interior of the tubular member 58. A pair of laterally disposed pins 58 may be provided on the periphery of the plunger adapted to extend through the opposed slots 54 and into the threads 25 of the barrel, whereby upon rotation of the member IS in the barrel the plunger will be caused to move lengthwise thereof. The plunger 2i! is made preferably of a relatively hard material, with a smooth forward surface adapted to freely rotate against the rear wall 64 of the ink sac 22, as the plunger is moved longitudinally in the pen barrel.

The ink sac 22 is preferably molded of rubber in the elongated shape shown in Fig. 1 and is shown as comprising a series of shape-retaining rings (Ell disposed in stacked spaced relation and integrated by relatively thin integral walls 62.

The walls E52 are preferably arcuate in cross-section; the outer surface being concave and the inner surface being convex in vertical cross'section, viewing Fig. 1 of the drawings. The rear end of the sac 22 is shown closed by a transverse wall 64. The forward end of the sac is shown terminating in an axially disposed forwardly extending collar 56 of reduced diameter provided with an interiorly axially disposed ferrule 88 adapted to tightly fit around the periphery of the portion at of the tip member. If desired, the in terior of the ferrule 68 and the periphery of the portion 4d may be formed with registering threads (not shown) as a means of screwing the ink sac onto the tip member. The ferrule 58 and the collar 65 may be integrated or bonded by any of the known methods of bonding rubber to unlike materials. The ferrule may be made of metal, hard fiber or vulcanized rubber. The wall 64 may be hardened, as by vulcanizing, whereby to provide a smooth frictionless surface against which the rotating plunger 28 may be moved lengthwise of the pen barrel.

In Fig. of the drawings I show an ink sac which may be identical with ink sac 22 except in the structure of the end wall thereof. The sac it is shown with a transverse end wall 12 formed with a rearwardly extending annular wall 14 terminating in an inwardly turned annular flange 16 in spaced parallel relation with the wall I2. A disc-like member 18 is shown in flatwise abutting relation with the wall 12 and is held in this position by the annular flange 16. The member 18 is provided with a centrally disposed rearwardly extending threaded rod 89. The plunger 82 is shown as being identical with the plunger 20 except that it is formed with a central threaded aperture coaxial with the rod into which last named aperture the rod 80 is adapted to be screwed as a means of integrating the plunger 82 and the sac 10 for purposes hereinafter described.

Having described the parts separately, I will now describe the operation of the invention. Fig. 1 illustrates a pen of the ball-point type with thecomponent parts shown in their respective positions when the pen is fully charged with ink. As the ink is used up at the writing ball, the supply of ink in the sac may be selectively advanced toward the writing ball by rotating the actuating member l2 in the proper direction, this feature of the invention representing a notable advance in the art, as evidenced by the large number of ball-point pens in use which have no positive or satisfactory means for feeding the pasty ink to the writing ball as the ink adjacent the ball is used up. The plunger may be progressively urged forwardly, as needed, until the sac is fully compressed or collapsed, as shown in Fig. 2.

If, for instance, an inexperienced person ad vanced the plunger 20 forwardly to the extent that a superfluous amount of ink were advanced to the writing ball, this may be corrected by rotating the actuatin member l2 in a direction to relieve the pressure between the plunger 20 and the rear end of the sac 22, permitting the sac 22 to lengthen in its endeavor to return to its normal molded length.

While the present invention is particularly adaptable for use with ball-point pens using a pasty ink, it is to be understood that it is not limited to use in this particular type of pen.

While the ball-point pens of the prior art all use a dense, pasty ink, inasmuch as a more fluid ink would leak around the writing ball (due to the lack of any means to retard such leakage) I. contemplate the use of an ink having the density of ordinary fountain pen ink in a pen embodying my invention. This will provide a smoother writing pen than any of the pens using pasty ink and the movement of ordinary writing ink in a pen embodying my invention will be controlled by the position of the plunger with respect to the rear end of the ink sac. V

Viewing Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that the tubular member l8 will be limited in its forward movement in the barrel by the shoulder 30 and will be limited in its movement in the op; posite direction by the actuating member I2. I contemplate a rotatable friction fit between the actuating member l2 and the barrel whereby the member 12 will be held frictionally in each of its; set positions.

While I prefer to use the spaced rings 6|! in the sac 22, for their shape-retaining properties, it will be understood that a circumferentially corrugated sac 90, as shown in Fig. 6 may be used. It will be understood that the replaceableiiik" cartridge does not include the tip member and .writing point; the tip member and. associated writing point being a permanent part of the'pen' holder or barrel and being temporarily removed from the barrel only for the purpose of attaching the ink cartridge to the tip member.

I claim:

1. In a fountain pen having an elongate hollow barrel formed with an internal thread in its bore, a combined tip member and writing element mounted in the forward end and a rotatable actuating member mounted in the rear end of the barrel, a rotatable plunger in said bore formed with a peripheral portion extending into and having cooperative sliding relation with said thread, means intermediate and having non-rotating relation with said actuating member and said plunger adapted to rotate said plunger and cause it to move lengthwise of the bore when said actuating member is rotated; the combination of an elongate circumferentially corrugated axially compressible ink-containing cartridge disposed lengthwise of said bore intermediate said plunger and said tip member removably connected at its forward end with said tip member adapted to provide communication between the ink content oi the cartridge and said writing element, said plunger being adapted for selective movement into and out of endwise compressive relation with i 6 in its side wall in telescoped rotatable relation with the bore and having non-rotatable relation with said actuating member, a circumferentially corrugated elongated hollow flexible sac disposed in said tubular member formed at its forward end with an outlet communicatingly connected with said duct, a longitudinally slidable plunger in said tubular member rearwardly of said sac provided with a pin extending outwardly from its periphery through said slot and into nested sliding relation with the internal thread of the bore, the sac being adapted to be compressed axially and accordion-like when the actuating member and cooperating tubular member are rotated in one direction to cause the plunger to move forwardly in the barrel.

ARTHUR F. O'CONNOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 338,019 Bartram Mar. 16, 886 566,350 Stiles Aug. 25, 1896 742,769 Wheatley Oct. 27, 1903 775,907 Leib Nov. 22, 1904 799,297 Betzler Sept. 12, 1905 2,119,796 Sager June 7, 1938 2,426,453 Huenergardt Aug. 26,, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 417,530 France 1910 

